Constitution
by Nautica7mk
Summary: After the events of Displacement, Clark pursues a more than friendly relationship with Lois. But will she give in?
1. Act 1 of 6

**Title**: Constitution (1 of 6)  
**Author**: Nadia Mack  
**Rated**: T  
**Disclaimer**: I Own Nothing  
**Summary**: Though this is technically a sequel to Displacement, it can work as a standalone piece and reading the previous story isn't required. This piece does explain the timeline between where it was last left off.

**Act 1 of 6**

Lois arrived home after a particularly grueling day. She was a barista by morning, student by night, and the girlfriend in between. For the most part, she was all for multi-tasking but she's completely beat. Right now, a good warm bubble bath is what she needs to soothe her soul.

She unlocked the door and opened it only to be surprised by what lay all over her apartment.

They were everywhere.

Flowers.

Lilies to be exact.

It reminded her of Loudon Terrace, a beautiful garden in Birmingham Botanical in England. She always made a point to visit the place whenever she visited the country.

She opened her cell and dialed Arthur's number, wanting to thank him. One vase full of white lilies had a card sticking out. She unfolded it and read the familiar cursive handwriting as her cell began dialing the numbers.

_Lois, _

I hope you like them.

Always,  
Smallville

Her mouth gaped open; ten times more surprised than she was when she first entered her apartment. A.C. suddenly answered.

"Lois?"

"I'm sorry, A.C. I'm gonna have to call you back."

Then she hung up. She fell on the couch and as short as it was, she reread the card. Why on earth would Clark… and then she remembered. A few weeks ago, he and her boyfriend switched bodies due to another one of those freak lightning strikes that seem to inhabit the small town.

For about a day, she shared affection to Arthur, who was really Clark in Arthur's body unknowingly. After what happened, they've talked about it as honestly as they could, and the weeks preceding the events put their friendship in relative silence.

She had thought that he just was staying away from her.

Now she knew he really wasn't.

* * *

"Okay, Lois." Chloe walked into her apartment in a rush. She had just got in after a speedy three and a half hour drive from Metropolis. "Kahn's been making me work overtime and it's absolutely – why is you're apartment littered with lilies?" She asked, suddenly noticing the state of her place.

"I was hoping I could ask you"

Chloe opened her mouth only to close it. He really went through with it.

"Did you know about this?" asked Lois, sternly.

Chloe half-heartedly shrugged. "Maybe"

"And you saw fit not to tell me?"

"He promised me not to say anything"

"Chloe!"

"Lois, what was I suppose to do? He's my best friend." She paused, uncertain whether she should say anything further. "He really likes you, you know"

Lois ignored her with a resounding, "Ughhhh…" She moved to her couch and plopped down, burying her face in the corner of the armrest. "Why is this happening?" she mumbled.

Chloe sympathized greatly. She looked around the apartment filled with lilies. Clark sure wasn't kidding around when he said a week ago that he was going to pursue Lois.

* * *

One Week Ago…

"Whoa. Clark. Slow down"

Clark stopped super speeding right in front of her, the gush of wind that trailed behind him always tossing her aside.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly, holding brochures of different gardens all over the country in his hands.

"Don't you think you're over doing it?"

"Chloe, Lois won't see me as anything more than just a friend if I just hand her a dozen red roses. I want to show that – that I think of her as more than that"

"I'm sure she would if you'd just tell her"

"I did, remember!" He sighed. "She's with Arthur. I at least want to show her that she means a lot to me, even if it is just as friends"

"She's not going to buy that. How much of these are you going to give her anyway?"

He grinned, silently.

Chloe smiled, shaking her head. What has Lois done to him?

"You really like her, don't you?"

This time, his grin turned into a big smile.

"Yes. I really do"

And though she wanted her best friend to be happy, he deserved complete honesty, even if it wasn't the good kind.

"I'm going to tell you right now, Clark. Lois is a tough catch. She always has been." Clark takes a seat, paying close attention as she continued. "She's not superficial or anything, but she does date a certain kind of guy – man –whatever you like to call it"

Clark's stomach grows more nervous.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's sort of half and half. She's dated great guys, and she's date the wrong ones. But Lois, and she's so going to kill me if she ever finds out I told you – "

"I won't tell anyone, scout's honor." He raised his right hand patriotically.

She breathed. "She likes a guy who's confident. She absolutely hates people who whine." Clark's face falls. "But she respects a guy who can sit down and listen and even go as far as help her out even when she's never asked for it." Hope shown in his eyes.

"I can be that," he said confidently, starting with the first.

Chloe sends him a serious look. "Not to be the bearer of bad news, Clark, but you do complain a lot"

"No I don't"

Chloe nodded. "Yes. You do"

"I've had a complicated life," he explained weakly. Upon saying this, he realized, "Okay, maybe I do complain a little." He sank back down on his seat looking defeated.

Her face softened. "Your friendship with Lois has always been… different."

Clark's head pops up. "Are you okay that I like her like that?" he asked in earnest.

"I don't know what you mean"

"I know that I can get lost in the things that happen in my life, but I don't want you to think that I've forgotten that you're her cousin. That you're family. If this is weird for you, or it's something you're not ready to see, just tell me, and I'll stop"

"You'd sacrifice your happiness to ensure mine?"

He nodded without question. "I like her. A lot. What I'm feeling could just be a crush that could fade away, but our friendship, I've had it for a long time. I don't ever want to lose it"

Chloe wanted to cry. She grabbed the brochures out of his hand. "Where do we start?" she asked, sifting through them.

Clark smiled in understanding. "Well, there's this really good garden in the U.K…"

* * *

A Week Later, Present Day…

"Lois, are you okay?" Chloe asked, concerned. She has been quiet for a full ten minutes now; it was begging to crack her nerves. "Do you want me to get you something to drink?"

"Vodka would be nice"

Chloe stood up. "Okay." And then she stopped. Did she just asked for alcohol? She turned back. "Do you want something else?"

Lois sighed. "An easy life on the rocks?"

"Very funny"

"What am I gonna do?"

"You've got two gorgeous and heroic men in your life fighting for your affections… at least, Clark is, but come on, Lois. What girl wouldn't want to be in your position?"

"Me!"

"Clark can't help how he feels"

"But Lana – "

"Old news, and you know that."

"But he never liked me before"

"That's because he was too hung up on Lana to notice anyone"

"He married Alicia," Lois said blankly.

"He was under the influence"

"Alcohol or drugs?"

"That's besides the point." She stopped and sighed. "What exactly did you and Clark do when this all happened that made him see you differently? You've barely given me any inside scoop on the matter"

"Look, I thought he was Arthur. How was I suppose to know that they switched bodies"

"So basically, you treated him like he was your boyfriend"

"He _is_ my boyfriend. Or at least, he looked like him. Why am I defending myself? I really thought he was Arthur. It's not like I had a body switch detector between the my door," she quipped.

"You fight so much with each other that neither of you ever gave the thought of a romantic relationship ever happening, well now all that's changed. Clark sees you differently now"

"And that helps my situation, how exactly?"

"You're going to have to deal with it head on"

"That doesn't sound very fun"

Chloe smiled brightly. "You're gonna be fine"

Lois didn't like what was happening one bit. "Sure it is"

* * *

Arthur came inside her apartment, masking his face with indifference, or at least, he hoped it was indifference. There was something he needed to say, and he needed to do it quick. He didn't want either of them to get hurt. Most of all, he didn't want to hurt her.

"You're breaking up with me?" Lois took a moment to process his words.

"Believe me, I don't want to," he admits.

"So why?" her voice was soft, and eerily calm, but not angry or spiteful.

"Because you're not in it anymore," he answered softly. "I'm with you but I'm not. You're always somewhere else; I see it every time I look at you. I know when I'm fighting a losing battle"

Then her walls rise up a hundred feet high. "Which suddenly seems awfully convenient"

"I know you like me, but you know you don't love me"

Her eyes opened wide. "Love?"

"See, even the very word of it freaks you out"

"Okay, I'm confused. Are we talking about love or are we talking about me always being somewhere else, as you so eloquently pointed out?"

"Both"

"I don't believe this." Her voice was still low but still very shocked.

"I've never lied to you. What we had going was fun, and it meant a lot to me. You showed me what love could be like. But what we have, it's just a reflection of what we really want"

"Don't tell me what I want, A.C."

"I'm not, but I do know your life wasn't meant to be lived with me"

She was floored. "What the hell? Where is this sudden bout of foresight coming from? I'm beginning to think that the good old fashioned 'it's not you it's me' lends a lot more credibility"

He smiled, and despite the situation, so did she.

Lois succumbed to the truth. "We really weren't meant to be anything more than what we are, huh?"

He took her hand one last time. "It was fun while it lasted though, right?" She nodded, agreeably.

"One of the best times of my life," she admitted wholeheartedly.

He breathed in deeply, getting up to leave. When he reached her door, he turned. "I'm going to envy the man that wins your heart," he said in a heartfelt tone before leaving.

She chuckled at the notion before watching him leave. Down the steps and across the Talon floor. And finally, out the door. She walked back inside her apartment, closing the door thoughtfully.

"Somehow, I don't think I'm worth that much"

Outside, Arthur sensed her thoughts.

"You're worth more"

**To be continued…**


	2. Act 2 of 6

**Author's Notes**: The point of Arthur cutting his relationship off with Lois in the first act is because he's been sensing that her heart wasn't in the relationship. This story is more about the workings of Lois and Clark's relationship. Also, a disclaimer to some dialogue near the end. It was inspired by a scene from last week's Prison Break.

**Act 2 of 6**

"Lois," Clark yelled for her, but she kept walking. He was in luck that he was super powered or else he'd never catch up with her. "Hey," he greeted her with an incredibly warm smile. You could almost say it nearly blinded her.

"Smallville." She greeted in return.

"What are you doing?"

"Walking"

"Where?"

"Forward"

He frowned. "Could you be a little more specific?" She's like a walking sphinx's riddle; he never could figure her out, not entirely. "Would you like some company?"

She shrugged. "Sure"

He smiled and walked along besides her in awkward silence, at least it was for him. Her thoughts seemed like a mile away. He's also beginning to notice a lot of little details about her recently, thinking back to when she first came barreling into his life two years earlier, she never looked down when she walked. The observation caught him slightly off guard. She may stare at the ground, be she never looked straight down at it. She's always so confident about herself.

"How's Arthur?" he asked, trying to make chit-chat as they kept on walking.

"He's all right"

"Good." And he meant it. He has no ill-will towards the swimming prodigy, even if they did share other-worldly qualities and an interest towards the same woman. Speaking of… "Look, about last week – "

"Thank you for the lilies," she cut him off. "All 100 bouquets of them."

He flushed red. "You're welcome," he said shyly. "I thought that… you didn't know it was me"

She raised her eyebrows. Amused. "Who else would I call 'Smallville' other than you?"

He shrugged. She hadn't said anything about it for over a week and he assumed. He has a bad habit at assuming things.

She looked at her wrist watch; it was a quarter to two. She needed to get home if she was going to reach her deadline.

"I've gotta go"

"Do you mind if I join you?" he quickly asked.

"I'm only headed back to the Talon"

"That's okay." He really didn't mind. "Besides, it's been a while since you and I have spent time together. We are still friends, aren't we?"

"Of course we are." She doubled-back. "Umm… correct me if I'm wrong, but you and I don't really spend time together willingly"

He laughed at the truth of the remark. "Maybe it's time for a change"

She breathed out, confused by his actions. "Are you _really_ Clark Kent?"

He sends her a serious glare.

"Okay." She held her hands up in mock defeat. "I was just making sure," she said with a wink. They turn a corner and see The Talon visible in their line of sight. The awkward silence returned and embodied the remainder of their walk until they reached the front doors of the old theatre turned café.

"Thanks," she said, and though weird, she appreciated the company.

"You're welcome"

* * *

Clark whistled a horrible tune on his way to Chloe's desk at the Daily Planet. She's moved her way up a few more floors than where she was a year ago. He takes a seat by her desk and sighed heavily.

Chloe couldn't help but notice his gloomy expression.

"Gee, I thought you'd be basking in happiness right about now?"

"Why would I be?" He leaned forward, using her desk as leverage. "I was with Lois this morning. She wasn't even up for small talk," he explained in disbelief. "Are uncomfortable silences the new black now?"

She smiled while throwing him a sympathetic look. "Give her some time. She's not gonna want to jump back in the saddle so quickly after she got off the horse"

Clark looked incredibly confused by the remark.

"What?"

Chloe's eyes go wide. "You don't know?"

He shook his head no.

"Oh, Clark. I thought you knew"

"Know what, Chloe?" he asked impatiently.

"Lois and Arthur," she answered. "They broke up"

The news hit him hard. "When?" he managed to ask.

"Last week"

Clark leaned back on the chair, completely surprised. It explained why she had been so distant and why she lacked the occasional verbal talks and arguments they unintentionally always find themselves in. Why couldn't she have told him?

* * *

Lois' doorbell rang and she scurried to answer it. She turned the lock and opened the door. Clark Kent stood with a John Hughes movie in one hand and mint-chocolate chip ice cream on the other.

She didn't know what to say but "Hi"

He gave a low smile. 

She let's him in.

* * *

After the movie ended and the tub of ice-cream was nearly consumed, Lois stood up to stretch her arms and legs. Then she relaxed, sitting back at one corner of her couch, lifting her knees to her chest as she looked at her sofa companion for the last ninety minutes straight in the eyes.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing"

He feigned ignorance. "What are you talking about?"

"Arthur and I broke up last week. I assume that's why you're here." He did not refute the claim. "Am I wrong?" she asked, just in case she was, though it was highly unlikely.

"A little bit, but mostly because I thought – "

"That I was moping around and crying my eyes out," she completed his line of thought. He looked away guiltily and she shook her head, a little disappointed. "We didn't exactly end on a sour note, so brooding need not apply to me"

"Right." He got up. "I should get going"

"Clark, what's wrong?" she asked, annoyed by his change in mood swings. "What exactly did you expect me to do?"

"I don't know." He really didn't know, this was as close to unfamiliar territory as he's ever been in before. "Talk to me or something"

She completely thought otherwise. "Look. Just because Arthur and I are no longer dating, it doesn't mean I'm ready to jump into another relationship so quickly now that I'm free and clear of other attachments"

"That's not what I meant"

"But it's what you're alluding to," she said flatly. "Let's be honest with each other, Clark. You and I are practically adults here, so why don't we act like one. Lay your cards out on the table"

"I already have"

"I like you. You're a good friend – "

"But I'm no one you're interested in"

"That's not what I said"

"But it's what you're alluding to." He grabbed his jacket and left fastly, leaving Lois standing in her apartment completed baffled at the events that just took place there a second ago.

* * *

Chloe lazily got up as the light banging continued to sound off by the door. Even the tiniest of sounds could wake her up and she hated her subconscious for it. She made her way to her door, making sure she stepped quietly enough not to wake her roommate.

She opened the door with great reluctance. This has either got to be Clark or Lois. Nobody does this but them. Through the crack she made as she opened the door, she could see Lois on the other side, pacing now.

"Lois?" she whispered, her mind still half-awake. "What on earth are you doing here at this time of night – wait, let me guess, it's about a boy"

Lois grudgingly nodded.

"I'll be out in a sec"

"So let me get this straight." Chloe stood outside of her dorm building with Lois in the middle of the night, processing everything her older cousin has just been telling her about. "Clark came over this evening with a movie and ice cream in tow, thinking he was helping to cheer you up?"

"Yes"

Chloe suddenly felt like she was trying to piece together a puzzle mixed in with a whole different set of puzzles.

"And the problem lies…"

"I think he likes me"

Chloe laughed. "That's a given, Lois"

"No. I think he _really_ likes me"

"I'm his best friend, I already know all this"

"And when were you going to tell me?"

"No, no, no, no, no. This is about you and Clark. Don't bring me into this. I've had enough of playing referee between Clark and Lana, but I gotta admit, you two are far more entertaining"

Lois glared at her cousin. "I didn't even know there was a me and Clark," she said, completely and utterly frustrated at the situation she unknowingly finds herself in.

"Do you even like Clark?"

"Of course I like Clark"

"More than a friend?"

"Come on, he's like a brother"

That didn't phase Chloe one bit. "Not to blow your big bubble there, Lois, but Clark is no brother of yours"

"You're not helping at all"

"Look, it's late and I have a midterm in the morning." Lois wanted to complain but she didn't want to be the one that caused her to fail her morning exam.

"Fine." Lois hugs her cousin. "Thanks"

"We'll talk tomorrow, okay?"

She nods, thoughts still weighed heavily in her mind.

* * *

Back in her dorm room, Chloe crawls back into bed, sighing. "Thank God." Her eyes nearly closed when another knock on the door broke her out of her impending sleep. "Ugh!" she growled out of bed. She opened the door to berate her cousin.

"Clark?"

"Hey Chloe, I'm sorry to wake you, but can we talk?"

_You've got to be kidding me_, Chloe thought.

**To be continued…**


	3. Act 3 of 6

**Author's Notes**: I actually had most of this part completed, but sadly, I left it in the office or else it would've been posted sooner. This was amusing to write and I hope you're amused by it too. Chloe's such a devil inside. LOL!

**Act 3 of 6**

"That's it!" Chloe slammed the door loudly for the entire world to hear. Scratch that. Enough for Lois Lane, her dear cousin to hear. "I nearly failed my exam this morning." She stomped her way thoroughly inside Lois's apartment.

Lois rushes towards her. "What? Why? I left when you told me too." Lois defends herself vigorously.

"Sit down!" Chloe ordered.

Lois does what she's told and sits quickly down on the couch that she happened to conveniently stop at.

Chloe paced in front of her and she contemplated that maybe her little cousin had gone too far into the deep end of the pool this time. She continued pacing, driving Lois all the more insane. There has to be better punishment than this.

"Chloe"

"Quiet!"

And she shuts up, too.

Chloe was incredibly spry tonight. The last time she saw her this way was back in high school when she was drugged up with crazy cheerleading meteor rock pheromones. She hoped it wasn't the case here, she distinctly recalled Chloe with a wrench and the pain caused by it afterwards.

It wasn't pretty and she didn't want a replay.

"Chloe," Lois attempted to say once more even though bodily harm may ensue. She couldn't take the silence much longer.

Chloe stopped pacing and looked at her that it made Lois lean back further into the couch, which was impossible since there was nowhere else to go.

"You need to talk to Clark," she said commandingly. Whenever Chloe brought out that voice, it always made Lois want to hug her real tight. She looked so adorable when she was angry and 'tough like' but she thought against it and followed along. She'd like to keep her limbs in tact.

"Clark?"

"Yes, Clark"

"Why?"

"Because you're both driving me crazy"

"Oh, that's a little harsh." Chloe refused to back down, making Lois sigh. "What do you want me to do exactly?"

"Anything. Do anything. Heck, sleep with him if you have to"

She couldn't believe what her cousin was saying. "I don't have to do anything." And when her cousin's words suddenly processed itself in her mind, she had to take a step back. "Sleep with him? You really are going crazy"

"I'm serious, Lois"

"So am I"

"What is wrong with dating Clark Kent?"

"Nothing"

Chloe didn't believe her for one second. "Yeah right, nothing."

"I swear to – "

"Don't swear to him, Lois." She points at her. "You can't do that. We haven't done that since we were kids, so don't you dare swear to him now"

Lois sighed. This is becoming a lost cause.

"What happened when I left this morning?"

"You and Clark happened"

"Yeah, I figured that much," she chuckled.

"Don't laugh"

She starts to chuckle even more at the absurdity of the situation. Is this what she's become now?

"I can't help it"

"You're leaving me with no choice"

Lois's face turns serious. "What?"

Her only answer from Chloe was a confident glare. She was up to something, she knew it. She just had no idea what.

That troubled her.

* * *

Desperate times calls for desperate measures and Chloe Sullivan, intrepid future reporter is going all out. There was nothing that's going to stop her from completing her mission. Operation Lover's Quarrel is now commencing.

Chloe managed to fool both Lois and Clark in meeting with her one afternoon.

"What's he doing here?" Lois asked, unamused. She received an urgent voicemail from Chloe asking her to meet with her at some unfamiliar address.

"Me? What are you doing here?" Clark asked himself.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "You guys are just in time"

"Time for what?" both of them reply, looking practically terrified.

She leads her cousin and Clark in an old stylish building with décor that seemed to have been derived back in the 50's. Clark just looked on curiously with wide-eyed wonder. Typical. And Lois just huffed and complained. Typical too.

Chloe goes to introduce them to a peculiar middle-aged man. "Lois. Clark. This is Doctor Vanderbolt"

Lois leaned towards Clark, whispering. "This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the _Twilight Zone_," Lois mock recited the old television show, making Clark laugh.

Chloe didn't see it that way though.

"I'm going leave you three now"

"What?" Both Lois and Clark say in unison.

"Chloe – "

"Wait!" Clark adds in protest.

Then she was gone, leaving him with Lois and a strange guy by the weird name, Vanderbolt. A doctor no doubt. For Christ's sake!

The two good looking young people stood next to each other in surprised silence as the man simply looked on. His expressing unchanged.

Lois points back towards the door her cousin just disappeared through.

"Did she just trick us into seeing a shrink?"

Clark was astounded and shocked.

"I think she did"

They awkwardly looked back at the… their doctor. This isn't going to be good. Not at all. Lois is going to cut Chloe off from her life. She means it this time.

* * *

"Let's talk about your relationship," Dr. Vanderbolt began in a monotonous tone. Lois and Clark curiously wondered if a therapist was supposed to sound that disconnected to their patients – not that they were patients – it's just, supposedly of course.

"We don't have a relationship," Lois answered first.

"Ahh…" the doctor says like some big light switch was just suddenly turned on. "Denial." He checked off something on his list attached to a clipboard.

"Denial?" she scoffed. "Denial from what?"

"I sense anger in you, Miss Lane"

Clark chuckles and Lois grows annoyed.

"Yeah, and I'm sure it'll lead to fear and will no doubt turn into suffering, next thing you know – " Clark cuts her off by hitting her side softly.

She throws him an angry glare.

"Could you describe how you first met?" the doctor asked, seemingly oblivious to the couple's shenanigans.

Lois suddenly grinned. Remembering it quite vividly.

On the other hand, Clark's head fell, hiding his reddening face. "I don't – " Clark said.

"Summer of '04," Lois answered much to Clark's surprise. Not that she knew but that she actually consciously answered.

"Please, tell me what happened," the doctor insisted.

She rolled her eyes. This guy can't be serious. She waves to Clark for him to finish it. She wanted nothing to do with this. Nothing to do with this at all.

"I was kind of out of it, that summer," Clark tried to explain without giving too many details.

Lois laughed softly. He certainly was out of it.

The doctor didn't fully understand what he meant. "You mean that, you were on drugs?"

"NO!"

Lois laughs, this time, letting it out loudly. Dr. Vanderbolt doesn't appreciate the interruption and lack of attention.

"Miss Lane, I insist you take this session seriously. You'll never know how to solve the problem of your relationship if you continue to deny that there is a problem"

"What problem? What relationship?" She looked at Clark before looking back at the so-called shrink. She wasn't the one with a problem. "We're in couple's therapy and we're not even a couple. Explain to me how that makes any sense"

"It's often good to let out your anger in front of your significant other. It's a good first step to acknowledging what the problem is"

Lois and Clark just stared at him blankly, blinking a couple times also. Lois looked back at Clark, making a circling motion by the side of her temple, indicating that the doctor in front of them was insane in more ways than one.

She is so totally going to make her cousin pay.

Dearly.

"How many times a week do you and Mr. Kent have sexual intercourse?"

If Lois had been chewing a piece of gum at that moment, she could swear she would've choked on it and died right there and then. Where did he come off asking such a question?

"Huh?" she said blankly.

Clark just stared disbelievingly at the question, feeling completely embarrassed. He wasn't liking Chloe now either, this was in no doubt the craziest plan she has ever hatched out.

Lois didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the question. "You did not just ask me that"

"Not many," the doctor deduced, checking off his list once again.

"Not many?" Lois wanted to blow a gasket. She grabs his clipboard and pen. "Try NOT at all." She scribbled on it like a mad woman.

Clark remained silent besides her. There was nothing he could say. How will they ever get out of this one with their pride still in one piece?

"So you and Mister Kent have been saving yourselves"

Lois blurts out a loud laugh. "That'll be the day"

Clark rolled his eyes. "You're really making it easy for me not to like you right now"

"Finally. Now we're getting somewhere"

"Could you be anymore insensitive?"

"Could you be more crude?" she retorted.

"God, you make me angry"

"You make me angry, too"

"Fine"

"Fine!"

Dr. Vanderbolt simply looked between the two. "Hmm"

* * *

An hour later…

Lois and Clark were deep into the session with Dr. Vanderbolt with intense attention to the problem at hand.

"When I first met her, I thought she was stubborn and rude. And I really, really didn't like her. And a year later, my opinion of her didn't change. She was still stubborn and rude"

Lois wasn't going to let him get the last word. "Yeah, right. And you weren't?" She looked at Dr. Vanderbolt. "Smallville here is one of the most inconsiderate people I know"

Clark was shocked. "You're joking right? That's completely untrue"

"Please. You were always whining about everything. Lana this. Lana that. I'm never going to be normal. What the hell was that all about, anyway? What's so special about normal?"

"You'll never understand"

"Hey. People die and are in pain all over the world when they don't have to be, but here's the difference. They live their lives every day like it's their last while we live just to live."

"Since when did this become about me?"

"Right about when you started calling me stubborn and rude"

"You are stubborn and rude"

"And you're not inconsiderate?"

For the first time since their session started, Dr. Vanderbolt smirked. They made quite a pair, even if they don't realize just how amazing they are together. He's provided counsel to many couples, but none quite so interesting as Lois Lane and Clark Kent.

* * *

When the session finally ended, Lois and Clark exited the shrink's office with looks of disdain, bewilderment and utter embarrassment on their faces.

"Well…" Clark uttered without too many words.

"That was…"

Clark stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Embarrassing." He felt nervous.

"I was thinking more in the lines of appalling, but embarrassing definitely took a good second place to it"

Clark takes offense to that. "It wasn't that bad," he suddenly defended. After the hoopla that happened inside the psychiatrist's office, he hadn't had a clue why he was doing so. A part of him agreed, but another part of him was glad that another barrier to their somewhat non-existent relationship was broken down.

Now the question of whether or not that was a good thing has yet to be answered.

* * *

"CHLOE!" Lois barged into her dorm room without so much as a knock. "That was the sleaziest move you've ever done behind my back, cuz"

Chloe ignored her. "I learned from the best," she grinned. "Are you together yet?"

Lois glared at her. "NO!"

"Well, then, we have nothing to talk about."

Lois puffed. She couldn't believe this. Chloe will not let up.

**To be continued…**


	4. Act 4 of 6

**Author's Notes**: I always seem to have a habit of leaving my work in the office. When I do, you'll won't see updates in the weekend. Sorry about that, but I'm refreshed now and after so many pretty darn cool stories has been popping up, I've been re-energized. Big whoop to all you fic writers out there.

**Act 4 of 6**

For the next couple of weeks, Lois steered clear away from Clark Kent as much as possible. She didn't want another repeat impromptu counseling session. She was still giving her cousin Chloe a hard time about that, using it against her every chance she gets.

It also doesn't help that it was getting harder to get away, especially since Clark had an uncanny way of finding her.

Lois sat below the base of the golden Daily Planet Globe, studying for an exam. She discovered this place one evening when Chloe was busy fielding calls and she accidentally found herself by the dock. The stair doors were locked of course, but many years of misspent youth taught her a way around those pesky things.

So now, there she was, reading silently underneath the beautiful starry night – no, not the Van Gough painting, just the sky. She liked it there. It was peaceful. She could put the world aside and just be. She had to admit, it's a really nice way to pass the time when she had sleepless nights, and there were plenty.

Suddenly, Lois hears footsteps.

She stuffed her books in her bag and slowly got up. She saw nobody else around, but then she saw a shadow. It started out small but as the figure neared, it grew. It looked like a man.

Tall.

Muscular.

When the man came into view, she became annoyed. "Clark?"

"Can we talk?"

She couldn't figure out how he could have found her. Another mystery into Clark Kent she wasn't all that interested in discovering, not so much anyway. "How did you find me?"

"Chloe mentioned something about you being up here"

Lois frowned. "She wouldn't have because I've never told her." She grabbed the remainder of her things and headed for the stairs. "Goodnight, Smallville"

"Lois, wait!" Clark ran in front of her, effectively blocking her from the exit. He just wanted to speak with her for a few minutes. "Please. I just want to talk"

"Coming from the same guy who once told me I talked a lot," she said skeptically. "Look, Clark. It's been somewhat amusing and all, but I'd like to get back to my life now, so if you could excuse me – "

"No," he said definitively.

"Stop with the crybaby routine. I'm seriously not in the mood." She dropped her bags. "I'm exhausted, overworked and I'm running on only two to three hour sleep every night. I am really not in the mood, Clark. Please."

Clark stepped back. He hadn't realized that. Come to think of it, the past few months, he has often seen her tired, but he's often chalked it up to staying out late with friends, and though he didn't like to think about it, Arthur.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you"

Lois lifted her head back, sighing at the sky. "I'm sorry too. I've just had a lot on my mind." Clark remained silent. "Believe me, my head's filled with things that aren't you and I related"

"Oh." Clark's voice betrayed disappointment, but Lois ignored it. "Do you want a ride home?"

"I can walk just fine"

"It's four hours away, Lois"

Lois smiles. "Not that home. The General owns a condo a few miles from here. It was rented out for a couple of years until a few months ago. I'm staying there whenever I come and visit Chloe"

Clark nods in acknowledgement. So that's why she was always away from Smallville all the time. "Oh," he responds despondently once again.

Lois didn't know whether to laugh or hit him in the head. "You still want to walk me home?"

Clark's eyes lit up, hope filling him again and Lois couldn't help but find it a bit cute, but she'll never admit that. Not especially anytime soon. "Here, let me take that." He takes her bag before she could refute.

"Um… thanks"

Clark smiles triumphantly. "You're welcome."

A few minutes later and stepping down over a couple dozen stairs, they started walking along the city sidewalk when something that's been bothering Lois prompts her to ask, "How did you find me?"

"What?" the sudden question caught him off-guard. "I… was in the neighborhood"

"Yeah." That didn't fool her in the least. "That doesn't explain how you found me though"

"I saw you"

Lois raised her eyebrows. "Where?" she pointed upwards. "Just by looking up?"

Clark nods shyly.

Lois looks up herself, and though it is dark, she can't imagine seeing herself from that high up without a pair of binoculars.

"Impossible. I should've been practically invisible to the average eye"

"Not my eyes," he says with a grin.

Lois stopped and wondered who this man in front of her is and where has he been since that fateful day she met him in those corn fields a couple of years ago. She noticed that he stood with his back straight now and not a droplet of angst was falling out of him. Most of all, he didn't look depressed.

"You're different," she observed.

Clark smiles. "How am I different?"

"Well," she paused. "You don't make me want to hurl like most times."

Clark laughs. "Was I that terrible?"

Lois doesn't lie. "Yeah, pretty much"

Clark's smile turned into a frown. "Come on, I couldn't have been that bad"

"Hey, you were the one who pulled a Freaky Friday, what did you see?"

"Well, I saw you for who you really are and not the person you want everyone to see," he stated.

Lois sighed. He just had to go there. "Clark, please, not now"

"What?" he didn't know what it was that's keeping her at arms length from him. "Why do you push me away like that? Am I really that bad of a friend to you that you can't even talk to me?"

"It has nothing to do with you"

"I don't believe you"

Lois rolled her eyes. "You can believe whatever you want to believe; I rarely say anything I don't mean, and I meant what I said. It has nothing to do with you. When did you suddenly care?"

Clark stopped. "I wasn't trying to be insensitive. You picked on me so I picked on you back. Besides, that was then, this is now – "

"And nothing's changed," Lois says conclusively but Clark believes otherwise.

"Look. There's a 24 hour café across the street. Let's get some coffee, my treat." Clark began to walk to the direction of the coffee shop, Lois's bag still hung over his shoulder.

Lois sighed. He knew she wasn't going to go anywhere or leave without her bag. That sneaky son of a .

She strutted into the dim lit café, the establishment was bathed in soft but dark orange-reddish light. The place was small but homey, comfortable, and dammit, it looked a little too romantic. Lois was beginning to think he planned this all along.

Clark sat at the back corner in a high circular table with tall stools for sitting.

"Nice place," Lois says blankly. She wasn't going to let him get even the tiniest benefit of the doubt.

"Thanks. I found it a few years ago"

Lois quirked an eyebrow. So this wasn't just a coincidence. Sneaky!

"Oh yeah, how?"

Clark shook his head, looking very hesitant. "I don't want to talk about it."

"And suddenly the tides have turned"

He gazed at her intently. "It happened a few summers ago"

"Yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense to me now," she remarks sarcastically.

Suddenly, a waiter comes up. He looks at Lois, looking entranced. "Good evening. What can I get for you?"

Clark felt like knocking the wind out of him but he held himself back. That wasn't the way to impress Lois, not the way at all.

"I'll just have a coffee." She looks to Clark but he doesn't answer. He just stares dangerously at the waiter. "He'll have the same," she tells the waiter with a forced smile.

"No problem. Two coffees coming up." He leaves smiling, and Lois good-naturedly winked back followed by a 'thank you.' She looked back at Clark disapprovingly. "What the hell was that?"

"He was ogling you"

Lois leaned forward. "Ogling me?" she repeated in a whisper. "You're guys. You all ogle women all the time"

He grunts. Upset. Then they sat in silence, watching the flame inside the 4x4x4 frosted glass candle holder with a metal rack dance in every direction. He wanted to strike up another conversation, and perhaps this time, he could keep his jealousy in check. "What were you doing up on the roof?" he asked out of curiosity knowing that she may not answer straightly.

She breathed out. "I was studying"

Clark was surprised she answered at all. Could he ask her more? The worst thing that can happen is that she says 'no comment,' so it can't hurt, could it?

"Anything interesting?"

Lois shook her head, almost wary. "Kind of"

"I didn't know you were back in school. Did you finally get the Kangaroo Court off your back?"

Lois smiles, recalling how she got kicked out of school a couple of years ago.

"No."

Clark waits for further explanation, making Lois growl in reluctance. She really didn't like to share with him, and that hurts him more than she'll ever know.

"I've been taking a couple of nightly classes a week at a local community college and online courses at the University of Phoenix to make up for last year. I've killed any chance of getting back into Met-U a long time ago"

Clark understands. "What are you studying?"

A grin spreads across her face along with a twinkle in her eye. "Journalism."

Clark is pleasantly shocked. "Chloe finally rubbed off on you, huh"

Lois shrugs. "What can I say? Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I'm pretty good at it. I think I could actually have a future in journalism."

"I think so too," Clark says with a warm smile.

The waiter returns with their coffee and they both thank him, his pleasantry was a bit more forced than hers but at least he's trying.

"Have you heard from Arthur?"

Lois wonders why he cares. "He's back in Florida," she answered simply. "Why?"

"Just making small talk, that's all." He paused. "What are you planning to do after you finish journalism?"

"Travel"

Clark's heart sank. "Really?"

Lois ignored the way his voice lowered. "Well, Chloe's really loving it at the Planet, so I was thinking of going overseas and do some freelance work for a while. It's not like I don't know my way around. There's a civil war rampaging in central Africa, dangerous for tourists, but I've been there before and know a few people who could show me around. If you look past the disease and poverty that overtakes their lands, it's quite beautiful."

"Don't you think that's a little dangerous?" he asks, concerned. He didn't want any harm coming to her. Not a graze, bruise or even a scratch.

"No more dangerous than Smallville, Kansas and Metropolis, or has it been so long that you've forgotten our constant brushes with death." She takes a sip of coffee. "I do recall a time when I almost drowned because of a crazed university football player"

He frowned. "That isn't funny"

"It wasn't then, but now, it kinda is"

"How do you look at life so easily?"

"I don't. Life isn't easy, I'm a college dropout, remember. You and your parents have been great, but in reality, it was hard. A part of me felt easy to live with you because I didn't really like you at first, but then your parents... it made living in your home more difficult. They didn't have to take me in, but they did anyway, and I don't even think they did it for me"

"My parents love you," he assured.

She smiles. "I love them too," she admits for the first time.

"So you're just going to pick up and leave anytime you like?" he asked rather bitterly.

"I have no obligation to stay here"

"What about Chloe?"

"She's a big girl, Clark, who also happens to have a life of her own. To be honest, I felt like an intruder"

"Don't say that. Chloe's has been happier since you came to Smallville. I don't think I've ever seen her so relaxed and upbeat before you came"

Lois smiles, appreciative.

"When do you plan on leaving?"

"I don't know"

"Do you a date in mind?"

"Clark?" she touched his hand but pulled it quickly back, and when she did, his hand moved so fast, she barely even saw it move, taking her hand back. Either the night has gone on for far too long or she's just plain tired and didn't see straight.

"I personally don't want you to go," he tells her honestly.

Lois didn't know what to say.

"I – "

Clark stopped her with an urgent kiss to her lips. Passion, need and exhilaration coursed through them.

It was their first real kiss and Clark had no intention of stopping.

**To be continued... **


	5. Act 5 of 6

**Author's Notes**: Those of you who are waiting for an update for Just Married will have to wait another few days. I'm going to go ahead and finish Constitution in the next couple of days. It'll probably be finished by tomorrow or mid-day tomorrow. Wish me luck.

**Act 5 of 6**

She felt his lips caress against hers and for a moment, she wanted to forget about everything and just let herself be. With him. Like this.

_What was she doing?_

Lois pulled away from him, catching her breath. His kiss still lingered on her lips like a memory that won't go away.

"Could you just take me home?"

Clark sat back, nodding. His feelings were out there, all out in the open. It's silly for him to think he could just make her fall for him when it took two years to make him realize just how amazing _Lois Lane_ was. He wanted to berate himself for pushing so hard when it was obvious she was scared and confused.

He stood up first and held her coat out for her.

"Thanks"

"You're welcome." There they were. Back to fake pleasantries. The past few weeks had Clark wondering what life would be like if he had fallen head over heels for her when the first met. He could only imagine the possibilities.

And a part of him wished he couldn't.

It made being a part from her all the more excruciating.

_God, he felt so melodramatic tonight._

* * *

"Is this the place?" he asked, looking up at the tall building.

Lois nodded softly. "Yeah"

Clark walked her to her door. "I guess this is goodnight"

"More like good morning, but I always thought that never made any sense so goodnight it is," she says the tone in her voice losing all the rough and edginess she normally speaks with in front of him. It was the voice he would hear when she was around Chloe, and it made him realize that he wasn't just falling for her; she was falling for all of her.

Clark smiled. "Goodnight then." He waited at the bottom of the steps, just to make sure she was okay. His eyes slowly sink to the ground when her voice popped his head up again.

"Clark"

"Yeah?"

"Um... nevermind." Lois turned around and inserted her key into the locked door, her mind contemplative. Should she or shouldn't she? _What is this?_ She should be long past this kind of awkwardness with Clark Kent. It was the cafés fault, she concluded. If it hadn't been nice and cozy, nothing would've happened.

But it did.

And it's _freaking_ her out.

Clark couldn't wait any longer. The quiet separation between them was aching. He needed to get away. Think things through. Maybe he was just letting his hopes and dreams get in the way of what's right and wrong again. He didn't know. He just knew he needed to get away from her.

So he started walking away.

"Wait, Clark"

Clark stopped and immediately walked back. "Yeah?" He sounded utterly pitiful, looking like one of those romantic leads in those romantic chick flicks that Chloe, Lana and sometimes, his mom would make him watch over the years. Up until now, he didn't think those things really happened in real life.

Is this what being in love felt like?

Anxious.

Nervous.

Stumbling like a fool.

Acting on impulse.

If it is. It felt pretty nice.

"Thank you... for the walk." Lois turned back around and lightly bumped her head with the edge of the door. _'Thank you for the walk'?_ _Come on, Lane, you're better than that. I'm seriously losing it._

Clark stood behind her flustered but still very much hopeful. He turns to leave again when...

"Clark"

And just like before, he turned quickly back. "Yes?" she practically had him hanging by her ever word. Even if it was just one.

"It's late. Why don't you take my couch for the night and head back to Smallville in the morning?"

Clark is surprised by the offer. "Thanks." He knew he shouldn't have accepted, he could make it back to the farm minutes before Lois would make it to her apartment, but he didn't want to leave her just yet.

Lois smiled at him and immediately rushed inside. He could hear the fast beating of her heart, he'd hear it even if he tried not to and he couldn't help by smile himself.

Clark followed her inside.

She led him to the stairwell and he momentarily wondered why they didn't take the elevator when it dawned on him – she was afraid to be alone with him – he smiled at the thought. It seems he wasn't the only one who's fallen; he just hoped it was more than the occasional attraction for her.

When they finally reached her floor, she continued down the hall without breaking her pace. She was in incredible shape, she wasn't even breathing all that hard. With everything that's on her plate, he wonders where she even finds the time to work out.

"Nice place." Clark walked into her apartment. There weren't a lot of things inside except for some furnishings. The walls looked like they were just painted white and several large boxes remained unopened.

Lois picks up some stuff off the ground and couch, clearing it to make it more livable. "Sorry about the mess"

"It's all right. Compared to the Talon, this place looks _amazing_"

Lois let out a smirk and then a laugh. "Try not to make a mess." She tosses a pillow to his face which he effortlessly catches and Lois had to remind herself that this was Smallville she was with. She's not interested. Not in the least.

_Who was she kidding?_

"Goodnight," she said again that night.

"Goodnight, Lois." Clark watched her leave, but at least this time he didn't have to.

* * *

Clark didn't sleep at all in the next couple of hours. Lying on the couch in Lois's condo apartment, he simply lay there staring up at the ceiling. He wasn't counting sheep or singing to himself of how many beers were left on the wall – he was just lying down, thinking.

Remembering.

Clark couldn't recall a time where any girl, even Lana, made him so sleepless. He just could not stop thinking about her. Maybe this was just another crush, but somehow, he knew, it wasn't. He liked who he is when he's with her. When he's with her, he could rise about the world just as fearlessly as she would.

Suddenly feeling constricted on the couch, he turned to lie on his back when he noticed, "What the..." he was floating.

Floating several feet off the couch.

"Oh no," he says softly with a chuckle, looking around himself as he stayed elevated a good distance above the couch. If his parents could see him now, breaking the laws of gravity yet again.

He only hoped Lois didn't come out. He wouldn't even know where to begin if she caught him hovering in mid-air.

Suddenly, the lights flickered on.

"Crap"

* * *

With her eyes totally closed, she worked real hard tying to fall asleep with little success. What happened tonight was in some kind of a loop in her mind, constantly on replay. It was really annoying her, literally getting in the way of some needed rest. She needed to think and she can't think straight if she's too tired in the morning.

She really shouldn't have invited Clark to stay.

What was she thinking?

With her throat getting dry, she got up to get a glass of water. Lois flicked the hallway light on and exited her way towards the kitchen when she heard a sudden crash in the living room.

She hurried over there to see if everything was okay.

"Clark?"

* * *

"Clark?"

Clark looked up at her, completely and utterly embarrassed. He stood up, his hair disheveled.

"Lois. Hey!"

She rushed to his side, helping him up, not that he needed it but he gave the impression that he did. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks"

"What happened?"

"I fell"

"You fell?"

"Off the couch"

Lois looked at the situation and began to think that maybe she's had a little more coffee and lack of sleep than she realized.

"You fell off the couch?"

He nodded sheepishly.

"How exactly did you fall on the rear side of the couch?"

Clark internally groaned. She just had to be so observant. He hadn't thought that far ahead and simply shrugged in response but then thought of something else. "I have... a mild case... of sleepwalking?" he added unconvincingly.

Lois didn't seem convinced too. "Sleepwalking?"

"Uh huh"

"Does this happen all the time?"

"No," he answered truthfully. "I should've added a little more emphasis on the _mild_."

"Right." Lois didn't really believe him. She's lived with him for the last year and a half, and not once had he ever sleepwalked before. And not once had he ever fell off the couch on the other side and there were plenty of chances.

Clark frowned. "You don't believe me"

"I can tell when you're not telling me the truth, so yeah, I don't believe you"

"It's really hard to explain, Lois"

"That's the beauty of our friendship, Clark. As long as you don't become an axe murderer while I sleep, you don't ever have to."

Clark was speechless.

Lois smiled and started to leave when Clark takes a hold of her hand and spins her back around.

"Stay," he whispered softly.

She chuckled. "That'll be easy. I live here"

"No. I mean stay." He moved closer, their bodies touching one another. "What are you doing?" she asked, lost in his eyes.

"I'm going to kiss you again"

"Don't"

"Why not?"

"Because you're Clark." He lowers his head further. "And I'm not supposed to like you." And further. "And I don't like to lose control." Clark's lips finally meet hers, her hands slowly making its way around his neck as his own went around her waist.

And just like the first time, she pushes him away.

"Okay. We need to stop!" her labored breathing was running away from her. Letting him stay was definitely a bad idea. A very bad idea. The worst idea she had ever. What was she thinking when she invited him to stay?

Clark has never felt this way before. Being with her made him feel like the man he could be. Not just the uncertain farmboy with feelings of doubt and loneliness plaguing his life. With Lois, he could just be, and it made him feel like flying.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "Actually, I take that back. I'm not sorry." He really wasn't sorry. He has wanted to kiss her for a long time and he wasn't going to feel guilty about it.

Lois stood confused, lost in her own chaotic thoughts. She moved to the couch and plumped down. Clark does the same.

"I really like you, Lois. Why can't you see that?"

"No, I see it," she assured. "I see it quite well." Lois looked everywhere but him. She decided to focus her eyes on the coffee table. Knotty Pine top with 'cream white' skirt, legs, and shelf. Legs have a saber taper that attach to corner blocks with machine screws. Skirt is decorated with rust color metal arched pattern. Spacious lower shelf. The dimensions are about 48" x 27¾" x 19" tall. She should know, she assembled the damn thing.

"Lois"

"Yeah?"

"I'm in love you"

If she wasn't already sitting down, this is the moment where she would have fallen face first on the ground.

"You're what?"

**To be continued...**


	6. Act 6 of 6

**Author's Notes**: Here we are again. The final chapter. Thanks for hanging out with me and I hope you enjoyed it. It's written quite differently.

**Act 6 of 6**

_I have found life an enjoyable,  
Enchanting,  
Active,  
And sometime terrifying experience,  
And I've enjoyed it completely.  
A lament in one ear,  
Maybe,  
But always a song in the other  
- Sean O'Casey_

Lois walked through the busy terminals of Metropolis International Airport after arriving from a two year absence from the United States. She dragged her black carry-on suitcase across Terminal E passing mini-delis and restaurants, finally finding her way to the lower levels, baggage claim only a distance off.

Upon exiting the airport, she took in the Metropolis scent. There's something about this city that she always found fascinating. She's been all over the world since she was child, but no place ever felt more right for her than the great 'City of Tomorrow.'

She looked briefly at her Movado _Esperanza_ polished steel mini dress watch before hailing a cab.

"Where to, miss?" the cab driver asked politely.

"The Daily Planet"

With the traffic at full swing, it took about twenty to twenty-five minutes to reach the world renowned Daily Planet building. Lois remembered a time when she stared at the newspaper building with indifference.

Now, she had nothing but respect for it.

After two years submitting articles and exposes in various foreign countries, Lois Lane has actually learned the meaning of patience, practicing it, albeit reluctantly, on a daily basis. Kind of like waiting in an elevator until she reached her desired floor.

"Oh my God!" Chloe squeaked excitedly when she saw the familiar face exit the elevator. "What are you doing here?" The young woman ran across the room and engulfed her older cousin in a gigantic hug.

"Hey little cousin," Lois greeted happily, returning her hug as equally embracing as hers.

"When did you get back?"

"Just now"

"Why didn't you tell me? I could've picked you up"

"I wanted to see the city." Lois hugged her again. "It's so good to see you, Chlo"

"The feeling goes both ways. Mr. White practically ordered me to come by today. He had me waiting in his office all morning, and I had no idea why," Chloe recounts with a laugh. She was no longer a reporter. The demands and politics surrounding investigating reporting in the professional field level became more than she ever expected. Failure in fulfilling her dream resulted into another form of writing.

Novels.

Chloe's first book arrived on the shelf a couple months prior, making the top 10 bestseller list for the past thirty days. It's been an exciting time for her.

It was called _Smallville_. Her follow-up is called _The Ezra Prophecies_ and there's even talk of a movie deal for it.

"Wow, Lois. Two years. I can't believe it's been that long"

Lois smiles. "It seems like it was almost yesterday when you were fielding calls while I play video games on the ground floor of the Daily Planet." She spots the current editor-in-chief Perry White with the corner of her eye.

Chloe smiles brightly for her. "Go get em, cuz"

"Thanks"

* * *

"I'm impressed, Miss Lane. Someone so young, I couldn't even develop a portfolio like this when I was your age. I was to busy trying to find my car keys."

Lois chuckled, she really digs Perry White. Chloe shared to her brief details of what Perry White was like. At first, she couldn't really believe that a former tabloid slash alcoholic reporter would ever reach the status of editor-in-chief and then she looked at herself and quickly squashed that kind of insipid thinking.

She definitely didn't start out with dreams of grandeur and perfect school records to support it. Flunked out of high school on a mere technicality and kicked out for boozing underage in college. Who is she to judge?

"The job is yours," Mr. White said finally.

"Thank you, Mr. White"

"Psst," he scoffed at the formality. "Call me chief"

"Right. Thank you, chief." She got up, a huge smile and feeling of accomplishment etched on her face until he called out to her again.

"Lois"

"Yes?"

"It says here in your application that you're married"

"That's right"

"Will you be using your – "

"Lane is fine, Chief."

Perry doesn't push for anything further. Being a married man himself, he knew how it worked. "Very well. I want you to start right away."

"I'm on it, Chief"

He smiles, proud of his newly hired employee. "That's what I like to hear." He doesn't dare promote favoritism but he can't help but already tell she was going to be his favorite.

* * *

It was lunch hour when Lois stepped out onto the roof of the Daily Planet. She stood at the edge and let the wind blow against her face. She closed her eyes.

"I miss you"

* * *

An ocean away, _Clark Kent_ opened his eyes after hearing the sound of her voice and smiled.

"I miss you too," he whispered.

Clark turned his head sideways and noticed the empty space next to him. He sat upright from the bed, sweeping his hair with his hands, breathing deeply. He can't remember the last time he ever spent this far apart from her. The longest they spent away from each other was at most, three days.

And that was because she had been kidnapped by a bunch of local thugs after snooping around for evidence when she discovered the possibility, that, a local entrepreneur was using his employees to smuggle illegal contraband to the main lands.

It was eventful for her, but it was a terrifying few days for him. It was the first time, as her husband, did he experience true fear.

Fear of losing her.

After the success of that story, Perry White tracked her down and for months, he kept pursuing her, an offer at the Daily Planet is open to her as soon as she decides to head back to the states. Finally, she faxed in her application (for official purposes) and the rest was history.

* * *

"I read your byline this morning, Lois," Chloe beamed. "It's a heck of a story. Should I even ask how you got your source to come out let alone speak?""

Lois grins, shaking her head.

"I thought so," Chloe says, impressed at how far Lois had come since her days back in Smallville. They're suddenly interrupted by Jimmy Olsen, the young Daily Planet photographer and also the young cousin of the guy Chloe had once dated a few summers back.

"Good morning, Miss Sullivan." He turned to Lois, shyly. Someone has a crush. "Miss Lane"

Chloe chuckled at the display and Lois merely ignored her and faced Jimmy politely. "It's Lane Lane on the byline but I'm a Kent everywhere else."

"Oh." Jimmy's face falls. "You're married?"

Lois raised her left hand that sported her wedding ring and smiled. "I am"

"Lucky guy," Jimmy must admit.

"He sure is," Chloe jumped in.

"Well, I'll see you around the office then"

"I'll be there," Lois says with a nod.

When he left, Chloe couldn't help but let out a big laugh. Lois wonders what the problem is. "What?"

"You do know you're going to break a lot of hearts when Jimmy gets back to the office today"

Lois blushed, her first in a while. "Oh, stop it"

Chloe laughed some more. "Have you spoken with Clark?"

"Every day"

"It must suck being apart from him for this long"

"It's certainly a first," she admits thoughtfully. "It's weird waking up and he's not lying next to me. I don't think I'll ever get used to it"

"He could always run here to see you"

Lois chuckled. "That'd be nice, but really, it's not necessary. We agreed that he finish up the story in the middle-east and I head back here." She leaned against her chair, thinking. "He really didn't want me there"

"That's not true," Chloe assured. "He just doesn't want you getting hurt in a middle of a war zone. You know he's only protecting you. Remember the contraband expose you did last August in Africa. Clark was a wreck at the thought of losing you"

"It doesn't make it any less easy"

"After everything you two have been through, this should be a piece of cake"

"See, that's the thing. We always shared our cake, no matter where we are. Now how am I supposed to give him his slice if he's halfway across the world? It doesn't make any sense"

Chloe raised both eyebrows. "You really _do_ miss him"

"There is that miniscule fact that I'm married to the guy, so I think I have a right to miss him"

Chloe laughs. "And three years ago, you were fighting your feelings against him, kicking and screaming"

Even today, Lois still couldn't believe how stubborn she was back then. When Clark first told her he was in love with her, her mind was just not there to process it correctly, thus, making the early parts of their romantic relationship chaotically exciting, if there was such a thing.

And once she let her guard down and completely let herself fall in love with one Clark Kent, it became an amazing whirlwind of a relationship.

This was soon followed by her leaving for Europe… and Clark following her.

He proposed to her in a train heading to Berlin.

How Clark managed to get the train cart all to themselves is still a mystery to her and whenever she asked, he just puts on that stupid grin she loves.

He told her all about Krypton and the things he could do, bringing her even to the Fortress of Solitude, where, she remembered in quite detail, how they spent their days, nights and very early mornings.

Finally, they arranged his parents and Chloe to fly to this beautiful mountain top at the Swiss Alps where they got married. Small. Intimate. A memory to cherish forever.

She missed her husband more than she ever thought she could.

This would be without a doubt the stupidest agreement she had ever agreed to.

* * *

Lois walked home, but it wasn't really home. Not really. Sure it had a roof and walls keeping Mother Nature from killing them, with a kitchen and a big bathroom, with a few bedrooms and all that jazz, but without her husband in it, it wasn't home. And it won't be until he was.

She opened the door and entered, not noticing all the rose pedals starched out across the floor. It wasn't until she noticed the low flickering of flame emanating from the living room did she finally take a look around.

It was warm, the soft music of Natalie Cole sounding off lowly from a nearby stereo. Lois looks absolutely flabbergasted.

Her eyesight turned suddenly black.

"Guess who"

"Who?"

"See, that defeats the point of asking 'guess who' you're actually going to have to guess"

"Oh, I see. Well, hmm… Soft hands. A sexy voice. It's got to be Brad Pitt"

He feigned disappointment. "Oh, that's harsh." He let go of her and softly pulled her around. "Miss me?"

Lois smiles happily, everything was suddenly becoming right. She hugs him fiercely. "Clark!" she kisses him longingly on the lips and he happily returned it with equal passion. "God, I missed you"

"I know," he whispered, kissing her still.

"When did you get back?"

"A few minutes ago"

Lois let out a smirk. "Show off"

Clark shrugs. "I sure am." He smiled widely. "Come on, Lois Lane Kent." He picks her up and leads her to their bedroom. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure of trying out our new room"

"Yeah, it wasn't all that fun without you in it," she adds with a grin.

* * *

_A while later…_

"AH!" he and Lois fell on the bed with a loud thud.

Clark was speechless.

Lois looked floored. "Were we just making love in the air?"

**The End**


End file.
